Artorias is a particularly strange case that might not even be playable after all

E3 2019 has come and gone. With it came Nintendo's Direct program, the reveal of the Dragon Quest Hero as the second character of the Fighters Pass, and Banjo-Kazooie as the third.

Many so-called leaks and rumors were disconfirmed with these revelations. However, it's difficult to determine if the "Google Theory" has been confirmed or disconfirmed thus far.

Back in May, a group from PapaGenos' Discord server noted an odd occurrence when it came to Google's search algorithm in Europe. Only a very specific set of characters with the words "Smash Bros. Ultimate" caused an ad for the Fighters Pass to show up.

These combatants were supposedly Joker, Banjo, Artorias from Dark Souls, Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, and Doom Slayer. Thanks to the assistance of our very own Nicholas 'MajinTenshinhan' Taylor, who resides in Europe, we were able to confirm this for Joker, Banjo, and Artorias — but not for Ryu Hayabusa and the Doom Slayer.

We were also unable to generate the desired results for other fighters like Lloyd Irving, Geno, Dixie Kong, Sora, Master Chief, Dante, Goku, and many more. This was suspicious, but it obviously wasn't enough to confirm anything.

Let's take a moment to assume that there's some truth behind the Google Theory. Looking back, it totally makes sense why "Erdrick" never generated the Fighters Pass ad. It's extremely unlikely that anybody searched for "Hero" or anything like that.

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Upon reattempting the search for this Fighters Pass ad, it will no longer generate the result that we're testing for. Not even for Joker, Banjo, or the Hero.

Of course, there's obviously a fatal flaw with this theory now that the Hero has been revealed to be part of the Fighters Pass. Joker, the Hero, Banjo-Kazooie, Artorias, Ryu Hayabusa, and Doom Slayer make six characters, not five.

"Even for Masahiro Sakurai, the man who made characters like Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., Wii Fit Trainer, and Piranha Plant playable in the Super Smash Bros. series, Artorias just seems really out there."

There's apparently a possible explanation that's been theorized. Since Artorias is a boss that can only be challenged through downloadable content in Dark Souls, Google may associate "Artorias" as being synonymous with "DLC."

Even for Masahiro Sakurai, the man who made characters like Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., Wii Fit Trainer, and Piranha Plant playable in the Super Smash Bros. series, Artorias just seems really out there.

If we were to eliminate Artorias from the list and then assume the rest is true, then that means that the Fighters Pass will supposedly consist of Joker, the Hero, Banjo-Kazooie, Ryu Hayabusa, and Doom Slayer.

Needless to say, this is still an unproven theory at the end of the day. Although the Hero's presence does offer a contradiction, the explanation as to what is going on does make some semblance of sense.

We likely won't have any official leads about the identity of the Fighter Pass' final two characters until after the release of the Dragon Quest's Hero in the Summer and Banjo-Kazooie in the Fall.

Until then, remember that it's best to take these type of rumors with a grain of salt.